Wire twisting tool



April 30, 1968 J. YONAN WIRE TWISTING TOOL Filed March 9, 1965 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,380,486 WIRE TWISTING TOOL John Yonan, 2243 W.Berwyn Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60625 Filed Mar. 9, 1965, Ser. No. 438,352 2Claims. (Cl. 140-118) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tool for facilitatingthe twisting of the free ends of a binding wire. A pair of wire engagingsleeves positioned at an acute angle with respect to each other on theend of an elongate shank portion of the tool, such that their respectiveaxes diverge toward the opposite end of the elongate shank portion;V-shaped notches cut in each sleeve to facilitate gripping of the wireends upon use of the tool.

This invention relates to an improved wire twisting tool for twistingthe ends of a binding wire engaged around a bundle of rods, bars, stripstock or the like.

An important object of the invention is to provide a wire twisting toolof the character described having novel wire gripping means at one endthereof for engaging the ends of the wire to be twisted including meansfor locking said wire ends in said wire gripping means to prevent saidends from slipping inadvertently from such engagement during rotation ofthe tool.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a wire twistingtool of the character described in which said locking means comprisewedge-shaped axially extending notches in the lateral walls of said wiregripping means.

Other objects of the invention reside in providing a wire twisting toolof the character described which is very simple to manufacture and use,including easy release of the wire ends after twisting of the bindingwire around the bundle of stock very tightly.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become apparentfrom the ensuing disclosure in which a preferred embodiment .of theinvention has been described in detail and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing. It is contemplated that minor variations in theconstruction of the wire twisting tool embodying the invention may occurto the skilled artisan without departing from the scope or sacrificingany of the advantages thereof.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the initial step in binding abundle of metal rods, for instance, by means of a binding wire to beengaged by the wire twisting tool embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the wire twisting toolembodying the invention in position for twisting the binding wire.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the wiregripping means of the binding tool em bodying the invention in the sameposition as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of said tool showing thewire twisting means thereof, portions of the tool being shown in sectionto illustrate details thereof.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4 and in thegeneral direction indicated.

Referring now to the drawing, the reference character designatesgenerally the wire twisting tool embodying the invention. The tool isseen in its entirety in FIG. 2 engaged with a binding wire 12 loopedabout a bundle 14 of rods which may be of metal, wood, or plastic.

3380486 Patented Apr. 30, 1968 The tool 10 is comprised of an elongatemetal shank 16 to one end of which is attached a cross-member 18providing the handle for the tool. The shank 16 and handle 1-8preferably are formed from hollow metal tubing of rectangularcross-section as best seen in FIG. 3. To the opposite end 20 of theshank '16 is secured the means 22 for engaging and twisting the ends 24and 26 respectively of the binding wire 12. The means 22 includeelongate metal sleeve 30 and a split metal sleeve 32. The sleeve 32 issplit along the entire length thereof to provide entrance passageway 33into the sleeve through the circumferential wall thereof. Each sleevehas an end 34 in closer proximity to the handle 18 than its opposite end36, the opposite end 36 being the lower or bottom end of the sleeve inthe vertical orientation of the tool 10.

The sleeves 30 and 32 are secured to diametrically opposite lateralwalls 37 and 38 of the shank 16. The sleeves 32 and 30 are canted onerelative to the other so as to converge toward the bottom end 20 of theshank 16. For his purpose, each of the lateral walls 37 and 38 isinwardly curved to accommodate the curved circumferential walls of tubesor sleeves 30 and 32, respectively in the formation shown. The sleevesare welded to the lateral walls 37 and 38 as indicated at 40 and to eachother below the bottom end 20 as indicated by the weld 42.

Formed in the sleeve 32 is a V-shaped notch 44 having its widerdimension end opening to the upper end 34 of the sleeve. The V-shapednotch 44 is located opposite the split 33 in said sleeve 32. The sleeve30 also has a V- shaped notch 44 opening in the same direction as thenotch 44, both relative to the upper end 34 thereof and the same side asnotch 44 of said sleeve 32. Said notches 44 and 44 comprise the lockingmeans of said tool.

To bind a bundle of rods as shown in FIG. 1, the wire 12 is engagedaround the bundle and a single twist 46 is taken of the wire ends 24 and26. The tool 10 is then brought up in position to permit end 24 to bepassed or threaded through the sleeve 30 from lower end 36 thereof andthe end 26 will be passed through the split 33 of sleeve 32. As seen inFIG. 3 in solid outline, the ends 24 and 26 protrude outwardly of theupper ends of 34 of said sleeve. Prior to commencing the twistingaction, the end 26 is bent over and into engagement with the crotch ofthe V-shaped notch 44 to the dotted outline position designated 26' inFIG. 3. Likewise, the end 24 is engaged in the notch 44' as shown by thebroken outline 24 in FIG. 3. With the ends 24 and 26 locked respectivelyin the notches 44 and 44', the tool is twisted or rotated by the handle18 thereof to tightly form the binding wire 18 in a loop around thebundle 14. The additional twisting is indicated at 48 in FIG. 3, theends 24 and 26 being prevented from slipping relative to the sleeves 30and 32 of tool 10 by reason of their being locked in the grooves 44 and44' respectively. Thus, the slack in the loop at wire 12 is taken uppreferentially by formation of the twists indicated at 48 in FIG. 3.

The cant of the sleeves 30 and 32 is advantageous in that it enables theuser to bring the tool very close to the crossover of wire 12 as shownat 48. This insures that twisting of the wire thereat will occur asclose to the bars 14 as possible.

When the bundle is tightly bound, the ends 24 ad 26 again can be bentout of engagement with the locking grooves 44 and 44' to the uprightposition thereof shown in FIG. 3 to permit their being slid out of thesleeves 30 and 32.

It should be noted that since the sleeve 32 is split at 33 along theentire length thereof, after the end 24 is engaged in the sleeve 30, thewire end 26 is more readily passed into the sleeve 32 through said split33 for engagement in the locking groove 44. This is much more convenientthan attempting to thread the wire end 26 through a cylindrical tubesuch as shown by reference character 30. The wire 26 would have to betwisted and bent to permit such threading through a complete cylindricalsleeve after end 24 was engaged with sleeve 30.

It is believed that the invention has been described in sufficientdetail to enable the skilled artisan to practice the invention. Theinvention is distinctly pointed out in the claims hereto appended inlanguage intended to be broadly construed commensurate with the progressin the arts and sciences contributed thereby.

What it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A wire twisting tool for twisting the ends of a binding wire engagedaround a bundle of elongated members, said tool comprising, an elongateshank, a handle at one end of the shank, a pair of elongate wireengaging sleeve members secured to the end of the said shank oppositesaid handle such that their respective axes are disposed at an acuteangle with respect to each other and diverge in a direction toward saidhandle, one of said sleeves being of hollow tubular construction whilethe other being split along its entire length to facilitate thereception of the wire ends therein, and means for locking the wire endsin the sleeves during use of the tool.

2. A tool as defined in claim 1 wherein said means includes a notchesformed in the circumferential wall of each sleeve and opening to thediverging end thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,186,781 6/1916 Henry 140-1491,822,543 9/1931 Rosenmund 140-1l8 CHARLES \V. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

E. M. COMBS, Assistant Examiner.

